V for Valiant
by Mauve Mist
Summary: Set in the movie verse. Sutler and Creedy don't die, the Houses of Parliament aren't blown up, V gets badly hurt. Now it's up to Evey to free England
1. The Choice

Evey Hammond dipped the piece of textile into the water bowl. Instantly when the material touched the surface the water got a light red color. This light red color was V's blood. Normally Evey was highly sensitive to blood and open skin. She barely could take care of herself when she cut her finger that it started to bleed. But here she just had to forget her fear for blood. If she'd not take care of V's wounds, they'd get infected, and she couldn't let that happen. V was lying flat on his back, with Evey playing doctor. She didn't know much about what to do with open wounds, but these weren't so deep, so there wouldn't be a huge problem. The only thing that annoyed Evey was that V insisted keeping his shirt on, which made it difficult for her to clean his wounds. She had to clean them as good as she could through the holes in his shirt.

"Are you ok, Evey? I know that you aren't that thrilled of blood." he said with his deep, male voice. He moved his head a little so that he could look at her. Evey didn't look back, she just continued cleaning the wounds with a half-scared expression on her face.

"I'll live…" she droned at last and dipped the tissue into the water again. The water now had a bright, scarlet red color. Evey pushed it lightly away and put some Vodka onto a cotton pad as desinfection. There wasn't a drop of normal, pharmaceutical desinfection in the entire Shadow Gallery. V groaned when he saw the alcohol drop onto the cotton pad.

"It's the finest from Moscow…"

For the first time Evey turned her head to her 'patient' and chuckled.

"If you'd had desinfection maybe I'd spare the Vodka!" she told him and pressed the soaked cotton pad against his wounds.

"Does it burn?" she asked.

"Mm-yeah…" V answered shortly, but Evey understood how he must have felt. Probably like being pierced by a bullet. Or at least something in that style. She knew that getting alcohol into a wound was like rubbing salt into one. For a moment she pitied V, but he just had to take it for a short moment. He'd feel so much better when they had healed. V didn't say much, probably because he knew he'd failed. Creedy had set him up completely and V couldn't do much except escape or getting killed. He chose to escape. For some stupid reason, he had said when coming back. Evey already guessed that he was so annoyed because he had to wait another year to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Everything had worked so perfect, until he had failed. What happened was that Creedy hadn't kept his part of the bargain, he had just shot V directly when he showed up in that tunnel. Sutler had still been underground, and lots of people had been arrested for being out after curfiew. V was physically badly hurt, and his pain was even worse because of the growing feeling of being guilty ate him. He thought he had betrayed all the people of London. He hoped to do things better, but he had only made them worse. Evey had tried to talk to him, but the only thing he had said that he was a total fool, set up by Creedy. 'I should never have trusted him bringing Sutler to me… Even if he had such a good reason…'

"You're done!" Evey said when she had put the last plaster on his wounds. "Can you stand up?"

V made an attempt to sit up, but bumped back again in pain.

"Dammit!" he groaned, very ungentleman-like.

"Where does it hurt?" Evey asked, trying to sound professional. She looked at V with fear in her eyes. If V was hurt as badly as he seemed to be, she had not the foggiest idea of how to take care of him then. He had got stabbed in the stomach by one of Creedy's sharper weapons, and that wound he had still somehow managed to put together himself. Evey was afraid that he was hurt inside.

"Um… Are you ok?" she asked him, biting her lip.

"Don't think so…" V said, laying back and sighing loudly. "That one was quite deep, wasn't it?"

Evey nodded. "I thought you had kinesthesia?"

"Limited." V told her. "Not everyone is perfect." He sighed again.

"Come on, I know it hurts, but you have to get to your room!"

Evey helped V to stand up, which went really slow. V was in very bad pain, but he didn't show it that much. Evey would've already cried a thousand times. That proved what a strong person V actually was. Even when he was an inch from death, he was calm and sensible. Evey would've given anything to be like V. She had never seen him in such a bad condition as this one, but it still proved the point. Getting stabbed half-way into the stomach was anything but pleasant. Evey carefully helped him into his bed and adjusted his pillows. She hoped that he wouldn't faint or anything from the pain. Because if he did, she would really get desperate.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"No, thank you, Evey." V answered and sighed.

Evey sat down on his bed and looked at him. His white mask was slightly glowing in the half-dark room. The milky, white color was like a sharp edge against everything else here, that went by dark, earth tones. The sheets and covers were brown, the stone walls were covered with a sheet that aswell had a brownish color which was hard to describe and the curtains pure black. The room had a strange atmosphere, it was both frightening and cozy. But it was cold thanks to the stone walls. The Shadow Gallery was most of the time quite chilly, when V didn't put the heating on. Evey always wore clothes that were more on the warm side, she could never wear only a T-shirt. Often she froze lightly. V seemed never to be disturbed by the cold. He used to wander around the Shadow Gallery, never complaining about the temperature, which Evey mentioned 3 times a day. But V told her the paintings and sculptures wouldn't stand a too high temperature, so Evey learned to live with it. After all, V had a very good point. These objects in the gallery were worth to freeze for.

"Do you feel better?" Evey asked him to break the silence.

"I do, actually, but I won't be able to go anywhere for quite a good time."

"You mean, like go… Kill people?"

"Yes."

Evey shook her head. "I see."

"I'd go kill Creedy if I could." V said with a slight anger in his voice.

"But you can't!" Evey corrected him.

V cleaned his throat and looked up at Evey.

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about."

V looked at Evey and her frightened facial expression. He knew that what he would ask her to do wouldn't be the easiest thing for her to do, but he didn't have anyone else to ask. Evey just had to listen to what he had to say, think about it and make a decision. That was about it. V knew a thing or two about human anatomy, and according to the damage made to his body, he should stay passive for quite a while. Everyday he'd spend in his bed, would be another day that Creedy would run free. After what happened in the tunnel, V needed to get his revenge.

"Talk to me about what?" Evey asked, fixing her brown eyes on the masked man, worrying about the tone in his voice. She had gone through a lot, a lot of bad things, and she finally hoped that they'd stopped. She hoped that at last her long nightmare was over. But to judge the tone in V's voice, he seemed to have something planned for her.

V cleaned his throat again, trying to pick up the right words from his very large, sophisticated vocabulary. He looked up at Evey again.

"Evey," he started, trying to not sound too serious, for he had noticed he scared her. "As you can see, I am hurt quite badly, and I won't be able to… work for a certain period of time. I don't know for how long, but it will definitely take more than a few months. And I was wondering, for this little period of time, would you… care to take my place?"

Evey found herself staring at V, with her mouth slightly open, trying to understand what he was telling her. Slowly the words reached her consciousness and she understood what he had just told her, one by one.

"What?" she said in a whisper, almost breathing.

Without waiting for an answer, she swallowed hard and cleaned her throat.

"You want me to go and do the job for you?" Evey eventually asked. V nodded.

Evey stood up from the bed, still staring at the masked man, her body temperature rising and giving her a red shade on her cheeks. She was nervous, she didn't know what to say and how to react. She still couldn't understand how V wanted her to go and do his job for him. She had seen how he fought. He was so perfectly agile, so strong and precise. He knew how to use his knives, and he did it with beauty. Everytime his weapon left his hand, it was with such beauty and grace, that even the victim would get stunned shortly before dying. Evey just couldn't see herself in his place. She couldn't understand how V could ask her to do something like that. She wasn't agile, nor precise nor accurate. Trying to be like V would probably just look pathetic.

"V…" Evey started. "How exactly do you want me to that? If you mean playing your role as in killing and using weaponery… I can't do that!" Evey said, quite loudly.

V didn't move. His head was turned to her, and even though he was wearing a mask, Evey could sense that he asked her, begged her to do that. Evey burst out in tears and ran out of the room, heading towards her own. She collapsed onto the bed, crying. What was she up to? She'd do anything for V. Absolutely anything, but killing was really on the edge. Evey didn't want to kill. She didn't want to be a murderer. She was a freedom activist, but slaying another human being would really be too much for her to handle. She wiped her tears away, trying to pull herself together. What was she going to do? After all, the people she was so desperately fighting against killed her parents and her brother. Her family. Her only family. When that happened, she didn't have anything left. What did she have left now? She had V. She loved V. She'd do anything for him. For a moment Evey remembered that time when she was standing under the raining sky, newly released out of that cell V had put her in. She had felt new. Transformed somehow. Evey wasn't that scared little girl that used to work at the BTN, afraid of everyone and everything. She was different now. And if doing what V wanted her to do could help an entire country.

Evey stood up and walked through the room again, going back to V. She thought she'd never accept it, but if this'd really help. She was ready. Evey took a deep breath and knocked on V's door.


	2. The First Drill

**Author's note:** I want to thank **Blackwing-Rose**, **Captain Scarlet** and **twistedxagonyxatxyourxservicex **for being my first reviewers! Thank you for your reviews, folks, they've helped and inspired me a lot!

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Evey didn't even know what she was doing. Last night had gone so fast. From being V's allied she was suddenly his student. Yesterday night she had accepted to learn from V. He promised her to teach her how to fight. He said he'd teach her everything he knew and much more. She was already nervous. The part where she'd have to stab someone through the stomach with a knife seemed nothing but impossible. Nervously Evey pored some tea into a cup and put it next to a plate with an egg. V was still too weak to stand up and she had to make breakfast for him. Evey wasn't such a skilled chef like V was, she tried making Eggie-In-The-Basket but it ended up with turning black. Shortly speaking, Evey wasn't the best chef in the world. She picked the tablet up and carried it to V's room.

"Morning…" she greeted him and put the tablet with breakfast in front of him. "I did my best, hope it's eatable…"

V chuckled.

"Thank you, Evey! It's looks very nice!"

Evey nodded and went back into the kitchen. She'd return in half an hour and pick the tablet up then. To be able to eat his breakfast, V had to remove his mask and didn't want to do it in front of Evey. He had told her that his face wasn't like it once was. V maybe thought he'd scare her if she saw it. He wished to have his breakfast alone, and she respected that.

Evey pored some tea into her own cup and put it to her lips, taking a sip. She was nervous, she couldn't eat anything. She knew that it was pathetic, but she was worried. She didn't know what awaited her. She couldn't imagine how V would teach her all that. How could V even imagine Evey taking his place? She didn't like using knives! Even not kitchen knives. And now she was supposed to use them as weapons. Last night V had shortly told her that he was going to teach her weaponry, technology and all other skills she had to know. Suddenly her head was filled with all sorts of information she never knew she'd know. She knew where Creedy lived, approximately where Sutler resided, where she was supposed to go otherwise… She was nervous she'd do something incredibly stupid and die. She had said that to V last night, but he had told her that she shouldn't worry, she wouldn't make any mistakes. He had said it so lightly, that Evey got scared. V never seemed to take anything deadly serious. He was even ok after killing someone. That made her nervous. She didn't know if she could handle it just like him. V told her that with this training she'd change. She'd maybe become a completely different person. A person that didn't have any limits. A person, that did what she desired. That thought scared her most. She had already transformed once, and that had hurt. That time when V had tortured her to set her free, she had felt it. Felt it with her entire body. Cold water, hard stone floor beneath her body and nothing but emptiness. When she was sitting in that cell, she thought that it was as bad as it could get. Evey hoped that she was right. She hoped that this transformation wouldn't be as horrible.

With a sigh Evey sat down on the edge of the bed again. V had finished his breakfast and she was here to pick up the tablet.

"Was it ok?" she asked him.

"Couldn't have done it better myself!" V answered. Evey giggled. She knew that that the egg which she had made, couldn't possibly have tasted ok. She knew that V simply didn't want to upset her. He was used to eat the food he cooked himself, and it was as delicious every time. Since V and Evey both lived in the Shadow Gallery, V always cooked for Evey. 3 times a day, every day. And every time she was stunned by the exotic and well-tasting meals he made. Compared with them, Evey's little breakfast was nothing.

"So." V started, "I think I'll be able to move tomorrow, so we can start the physical training part tomorrow. Today I'll teach you strategies, do's and don'ts in the field. We'll have to feed your muscles with knowledge but also your brains."

Evey nodded and took the tablet from V, heading into the kitchen. She put it in the water-filled sink and threw some washing powder into it, going back into V's room. She took a chair and sat down opposite him, ready. V cleaned his throat and turned his head towards Evey. She was sitting with crossed legs and a very concentrated expression on her face. V chuckled.

"Don't look so afraid, Evey!" he laughed, trying to get her to relax. Evey smiled a tensed smile.

"So." V finally began. "When you're fighting someone, the most important thing is to never get stressed or nervous. When you fight someone, it's just you and them. No one else exists. Never let anyone or anything distract you, Evey. They will try to do that, but you must be completely focussed, completely calm and completely stable. I'm sure you've seen people panic and end up dying from their own fear. That must never happen to you.

Another important thing is, that you will never be better than your weapon. Let's say you use a knife. You will never be stronger or sharper than the blade. When you use your knives to kill someone, never forget that the blade does the job for you. Never underestimate the power of your weapons, if you do, you'll fail.

In a battle you have to think quickly, there isn't time to stand and wonder if you should make your move or not. You make your move and you don't look back. If you continue looking back all the time, Evey, you'll be dead before you've even turned to your foe."

V continued speaking. He explained how he thought in details. Every single little muscle movement he explained and analysed. Everything so that Evey would understand him perfectly. Evey's sharpness and concentration was on its peak. She listened to everything he told her, she understood and imagined. Evey knew that V was a man of a thousand talents. In her opinion, there was nothing he couldn't do. But she could never imagine that he was such a good teacher. He explained everything so clearly and neatly, that even a person like Evey, that had never before heard a few of the words, picked them up directly. It often happens, that the most gifted and brilliant people in what they do, are those that do not know how to explain something correctly.

Slowly she began to understand the nature of V's fighting skills. Apparently he was using 40 percent knowledge, 40 percent technique and 20 percent strategy when fighting. Of course he had enhanced other abilities, but he said that even if Evey didn't possess then, she'd do well. He made everything sound so incredibly easy, and that calmed Evey down. Every time she got nervous that she wouldn't be able to do it, she just trusted V. She trusted that he wouldn't let her do it if she couldn't make it.

Evey discovered something new about herself this night. She noticed that she picked up information incredibly quickly. V didn't have to tell her the same thing twice. She understood it the moment he finished the sentence. V had told her that teaching her all this would take time, and would take a great effort from Evey. He would train her to the peak of her physical abilities, everything she would was physically able to do. Evey knew that it would be a long way to go, but she was ready to walk it.


	3. Deep Water

Evey didn't say much when she saw V the next morning, but she was happy to see that he could stand up. V seemed to be in very bad pain, because he didn't walk as lightly as he used to walk. He reminded her of an old man. But V was still V, with or without his certain way to walk. He wanted to get started directly after a quick breakfast, which, surprisingly he had done himself today. It was just like the first time they had met. Evey had woken up to the delightful smell of an Eggie-In-The-Basket in the morning, and found V standing and making her tea. The morning had been quiet, V had been talking about today's training, but as soon as Evey was ready and dressed, V was serious again.

"Come with me, Evey, I have a surprise for you."

Evey looked up at V, swallowing her last piece of toast. She nodded and stood up, walking with him.

"So, as I can see, you are not very strong." he told her. Evey nodded.

"No, I'm not."

"You see, Evey, everything I do is based on strength. So the first thing we'll have to fix are your muscles. The heavier work-outs you do, the bigger your muscles will get, and you will get stronger. Of course I'm almost certain that you'll be in pain for a couple of days but it'll go eventually."

Evey sighed quietly. Sometimes she wondered if anything V did to her didn't include physical pain.

V showed her into a room next to them, and down the stairs. Evey caught a scent in the air. It was bitter, almost sour in some way. She recognized the scent but couldn't say what it was. She had felt it once before, in her childhood.

"I used this technique when I trained myself. It's quite quick and even pleasant. I'm sure that when you'll have a try-out of every training part you'll like this one most." V said and opened a closet. He dug around in it for a moment and eventually looked up again.

"Aha. Here we go!"

Evey blinked. She took the small piece of black textile and looked at it. The material was very soft between her fingers, almost slippery.

"It's a bathing suit." she said eventually.

"Very good, Evey. I will never forget what I told you when we first met. You _do_ have an extra-ordinary power of observation. Come on."

With the black bathing suit in her hand, she followed him into another room. She barely could believe her eyes when she saw it.

"It's a pool! It's a real swimming pool" she called out and hurried to the edge of it. She bent slightly over it and touched the surface. The water was crystal clear and built circles when she touched the surface. Evey hadn't seen a pool since she was a little girl. V watched her for a moment, deciding not to rob her of her joy. She hadn't seen a real pool in a long, long time and he thought it'd be nice for her to see it again, even if she'd see it very often from now on. At last Evey stood up and smiled at V.

"I get to swim?" she asked. V nodded.

"Yes. It's less resistance in air than in water, so you'll build up muscles faster in water. So you can expect a lot of practising in the pool."

"Did you build it yourself?" Evey asked him.

"Yes. Took time, but look at the result!" V answered, sounding proud. And he did have every reason to, building a pool was nothing for amateurs.

"There's a dressing room over there, I'll wait here, don't take too long."

Evey nodded and went to the dressing room V had just showed her.

V looked at the surface of the water. Once he had been swimming here, felt the smooth cold of the water against his skin. When he was still living alone in the Shadow Gallery, he had taken a quick swim nearly every night when he wasn't wounded. He missed it so much. V didn't want to admit it, but he would maybe never be able to again, or at least for a long time. The wound on his stomach would take a great deal of time to heal, he should be happy he was still alive. V sighed and leaned against the wall. It was such peace and tranquillity here. Not a single sound. However Evey changed, she did it very quietly. V wasn't sure how to instruct her correctly without starting to sound too harsh. He cared a lot for Evey and didn't want to hurt her. It had been difficult for him to torture her, but he knew what a tortured mind she already was, he couldn't let her continue being that way. V cared about her, more than he had ever cared about anybody. The thought of that Evey had confessed she loved him had touched him so that time. She told V she loved him. He still couldn't understand how it was possible. He was a monster. He didn't have a face, he didn't have skin, he didn't have anything of what others take for granted. Sometimes he felt so incredibly empty. As if he didn't even have a reason of moving on. V was so deeply into his thoughts that he didn't hear Evey until she called out loudly:

"How did you know my size?"

Evey came strolling in the black bathing suit he had given her. God she was beautiful. In a simple, pure way but still breathtaking. She wasn't so tall, but she had a very adorable, petite little figure and beautiful skin. It was so even. V even got nervous how he'd spoil that body of hers by putting on some extra muscles. But maybe it would look better. He didn't really know. V sat down on a chair and turned his head to Evey.

"Get into the water. I hope you know how to swim?"

"Yes, of course!"

Evey went to the edge and dove into the deep pool. It felt marvellous. She had completely forgotten how it felt being under water. It was so quiet here, she didn't hear anything, except her own movements. Evey swam up to the surface, gasping for air.

"You alright?" V asked.

"U-huh!" Evey said happily.

"Good." V agreed, "Now, tell me, Evey, do you reach to the bottom of the pool with your feet?" he asked.

"No." she answered.

"Good. Come over here."

Evey did as she was told to.

"Give me your hands."

Evey had to admit that she was a little stunned, why did V ask for her hands? Wasn't she supposed to use them for swimming? V bent down, but she could see his was in pain. It clearly hurt very badly.

"V… Take it easy, you're still not so well!" Evey said, holding out her hands.

"Don't' worry, Evey, I'm fine."

V took both of her hands and did something very unexpected. Evey couldn't believe her eyes when she watched him bound them together, so that she couldn't move them. She wasn't able to use them to swim now. She didn't say anything, just looked up at him.

"Now go out into deep water again, I want you to stay steadily at the surface, using only your legs. That's why I bound your hands together, so that you don't use them unintentionally."

Evey had her mouth slightly open.

"But that's impossible!" she told him. "I can't…"

"Of course you can, you've got two legs, a back to stabilize with and your stomach muscles as a back-up to your back. Come on."

Evey didn't say anything else, just swam out into the middle of the square-shaped pool. She felt that she was sinking directly. She held her breath and worked with her legs. She kicked under water, so that it would push her back up to the surface so that she could breath. It didn't last very long. After good three minutes Evey got tired, and didn't put the proper amount of force to work herself up to surface. She gasped for air because she felt she was sinking. Evey made a failed attempt to swim upwards with her arms.

"Don't be lazy, Evey, don't use your hands."

"I can't!" she yelled.

"That's why I bound them together."

"No, I can't! V, I'm sinking!"

"Use your legs."

"V!"

"Your legs, Evey, your legs. Use them and you won't sink."

"V, it hurts, I can't anymore!"

"You still live. You still breath. Keep going… For as long… As you can."

"V…"

"When you really can't, swim to shore again."

"No, V! Please…"

Evey understood that she wouldn't get any help from V except instructions, so she decided to go for it. She bit together, and kicked water underneath her. She kicked, and kicked, and felt, that she slowly was swimming towards the edge of the pool where V was waiting. Evey saw the edge and felt someone pull her up. Next time she looked up, she looked into V's white mask.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, holding Evey in his arms. V noticed that this would take far longer time than he imagined. Evey didn't have so strong leg muscles, and those would take the longest time to train. It would be painful for her, but she just had to survive.

"How… Many… Hours…" Evey breathed.

"Barely 5 minutes." V told her.

Evey looked up at him, not believing what he was telling her. It felt like she had been in the water for ages. She felt her legs pulsating and hurting. She had never made a work-out like this. She didn't expect it to be so difficult. Evey sighed.

"Am I too weak?" she asked him, looking down.

"Just untrained." V answered. He wasn't lying. He could train her to be incredibly strong, agile and possibly even durable. But it would take time.

"Do I have to have my hands bound?" she asked.

"That's the only thing that guarantees me that you aren't using them."

Evey looked up at V. Suddenly everything seemed to be so impossible, as if she wouldn't make it. She tried to convince herself that she simple wasn't built for this kind of stuff. She felt so helpless and weak. Suddenly Evey jumped up and ran back into the Shadow Gallery. No, she couldn't make it. She wouldn't.

V was rather stunned when he saw Evey's next move. She gave up quickly. He felt both upset and slightly frightened. Evey was his last opportunity to win against the government. There was only him and her, nobody else existed. If Evey now gave up, what would next happen to this country?


	4. New Strength

Evey was lying and glaring to herself in the dark. She was a failure. A mess. A nobody. Why did she have to storm out of the swimming pool like that, what did V think of her now? That she was the worst mess he ever gotten into. Evey crossed her arms, continuing to stare into the dark emptiness of her bedroom. She was very alone, very upset and very ashamed. She still smelled of chlorine water and her body itched. She wasn't used to it and hadn't had a shower after her failed swimming practise. Her curly hair was more frizzy now and her bed had a wet spot beneath her. Evey couldn't decide what to do next. What would she tell V next time she saw him? God, she was afraid even looking at the man for the moment. She wouldn't be able to look him into his mask, she was too cowardy. She wouldn't make it. For a moment Evey didn't know why she suddenly felt so sorry for herself. Earlier she would've thought it was ok pitying herself, but now it just felt pathetic. Why was she acting like a two years old? Why didn't she try again after failing in the pool?

Evey sighed loudly and got up. She walked through the dark to reach the door. She pressed down the handle and looked out. The Shadow Gallery was dark. All lights were out. So V must've gone to bed. Usually Evey would find him sitting and reading a book, but now he wasn't anywhere seen. Evey closed the door quietly behind herself and headed to the stairs.

Inspector Eric Finch nervously wiped some sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand. What had happened a few days ago had made Sutler mad and now he expected it to be written all over his face. He glanced around as he hurried into the Situation Room. One thing he deeply hated about this was that some of the meetings weren't in the evening, but in very early morning. Guards were literally everywhere, Sutler had sharpened the security now. He was probably afraid V would attack him directly. In a few quick steps Finch reached the Situation Room, sat down on his place in front of the Interlink screen and nodded to the others as a greeting. This was going to be painful. Since Sutler had basically fired Creedy Finch expected a lot of yelling from Sutler's side. Was there going to be a riot? Creedy was not a man that gave up directly.

After 5 minutes of nervous messing with papers and glasses of water, the Head was assembled. Everyone nervously cleaned their throats before seeing Sutler appear on the screen. The atmosphere was incredibly tensed in the Situation Room and everyone feared they would loose their jobs. Creedy was the most nervous, but he didn't show it. His pale skin glowed in the dark and the sweat on his face was reflecting.

A click was heard and they were staring into the chancellor's angry face on the screen.

"What the hell happened!" he yelled.

Even though everyone expected him to have his voice up, they torched where they sat. Listening to a very angry Adam Sutler was always frightening.

"Why are you still here, Mr. Creedy?" he shouted, staring at Creedy. Finch, Heyer and Dascombe actually expected him to be angry at why the terrorist was still alive, but at the moment they got the impression he didn't care at all. The only thing that seemed to disturb him was the fact that Creedy wasn't out of the building.

"Sir…" he started with a thin, yet stern voice. "I think it'd be… Better if I, head of the Finger department, would stay a little longer to find…"

"I did not ask for your opinion, Mr. Creedy!" Sutler yelled, turning red. He seemed to have a difficult night. Half of London had been black-bagged and detained. Some of them executed. Creedy turned quiet. This was already difficult enough.

"I told you that what happened a couple of days ago was intoreleble, and I do not accept intolerance in this country! Mr. Creedy is a perfect example for that and that is why he is signing his recegnation today!"

Creedy cleaned his throat and continued:

"My Fingrmen have found certain… resources, Sir. Finding the terrorist would be quite… easy now." He said. Sutler thought for a short moment.

"And what is that, Mr. Creedy?"

"They have been searching the city for quite some time now, and finding traces from the terrorist. I believe in the present time they already have clues where he could be."

Sutler must've changed his mind, for he loud and clearly told him:

"You can still find yourself head of the Finger till the terrorist is found. Mr. Finch, what have you found out?"

Finch gulped.

"Well, not much since the riot, lots of information went missing but we're picking it up."

"Good, Mr. Dascombe?"

"We're telling them the terrorist is found dead."

"Mr. Heyer, I want cameras and guards in every corner of the city, any dead end and absolutely any other place you can think of! England prevails."

"England prevails…" they mumbled.

When the meeting was over, Finch was the first one to get up. This had went easier that he thought. Thankfully no one lost their jobs, even Creedy was in for a while longer. He could still bet there was a connection between code name "V" and Larkhill. But since the chancellor had blacklisted all information, he was as good as lost.

Evey stood on the edge of the swimming pool. She didn't want to be weak. She wanted to make it. She wanted to be able to do everything that V agreed to teach her. She adjusted her swimming suit and hopped into the water. Evey gasped for air when reaching the surface and blinked to get the small amount of chlorine out her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest, touching her shoulders and not moving them. She started to stabilize herself by using her legs, her stomach and her back. She continued doing that. She kicked and kicked. Evey felt the pain grow in her legs. Her blood pressure hightened and the blood was moving faster through her veins. Evey started to breath heavily. She was so tired, her body was screaming for sleep. She glanced over at the clock on the wall. 3 AM. She was so tired she didn't even know her name, she just wanted to go back to her cozy, warm bed and fall asleep. But she couldn't. When she had been lying there in her bed, thinking, a strange feeling had ran through her body. It felt as if she had been filled with new strength. She felt that this time, she would make it. Evey didn't even notice, that V was regarding her through the little opening in the door.

V smiled behind his mask. Evey had such a fighter spirit. He didn't even understand why he was worrying in the first place, of course Evey would overwin her physical weakness. He watched her trying harder and harder. He saw the strength and courage hidden beneath her skin and in her little body. Evey was starting to rise higher, rise above. She was superior. At least in V's eyes. He stood and watched her for a long time. Where did she get all that energy from? Smoke of energy was almost rising up from her. He yawned and looked at his clock. She had been doing this for over an hour now. Quietly he went upstairs to his study. V glanced over the table and found what he was looking for. Carefully he picked some of his polished knives up and carried them to the hall where he put them on the table in the middle of the round room. Tomorrow he'd take step two.


	5. Hitting the Bullseye

She was so nervous she didn't feel her stomach. She was so nervous her mouth was dry. She was so nervous she'd fail. Evey Hammond was standing and staring at V, with a polished knife in each hand. V himself was sitting in a chair in front of her, ready to give instructions. He noticed she was very stressed and nervous. Her forehead was even shiny with a thin layer of sweat. He knew that Evey wasn't that fond of weapons. She held them as if they were made out of glass, afraid to drop them. Evey had never before in her life held knives like this.

"Well go on, feel the weight of them!" he told her, crossing his arms. "Move them a little bit, try to get used to the feeling."

Evey opened her mouth slightly, licking her lips. She didn't know how to use a knife. Heck, she never knew how to. Hopefully V would teach her so that she'd not be so afraid anymore. Carefully Evey moved her arms. They weren't relaxed, more tensed. She wasn't yet ready to play around with them like V usually did. She moved them in circles, trying to get used to them. They were both heavy and light at the same time. They weren't that complicated to use, she just needed a good technique. Slowly Evey was getting along.

"Ready?" V asked her. She nodded.

"Good. As you can see," V pointed at the wall behind her. Evey turned around to take a look. "I've placed bullseyes on the wall, and I want you to hit it by throwing from here. Try."

Evey gulped.

"It' sounds difficult…"

"Yes, I'm quite sure you'll think so in the beginning, but after some time I'm sure you'll get along perfect."

Evey nodded and looked at the first bullseye. It was the size of a pea, in she wondered how in the world she'd get the blade to hit it, or at least in a radius of a meter. She looked at it, lifted the knife, and let go.

"Dammit…"

The blade wasn't even close to the bullseye. V cleaned his throat, as if he had already expected that. He stood up and took her other hand in which she held her other knife.

"Relax your wrists! Of course it doesn't hit anything, your wrists are like steal!" he told her and hit them lightly so that she'd relax them. Evey nodded and took a deep breath, relaxing her hand.

"Now, when you throw your knife, try to get a contact with the point you want to hit."

"Get… contact? What?" Evey raised her eyebrows, wondering.

"Right…" V thought for a second. "Have you ever tried jumping a short distance from one place to another?"

"Yeah…"

"When you're in the air, you know that you're going to hit the ground just where you want to, it's the same idea when you throw a knife. Try again. Think of the jump."

V stepped aside and Evey tried again. She relaxed her wrists, thought about a jump. She was going to hit the bullseye, she was going to. Completely focussed, and completely aware of what she wanted, she threw the knife. This time she did it with force, the blade cut into the wood wall, a few inches away from the bullseye.

"Very good, Evey! Very good!" V jumped up, full with joy. "I'm stunned! Now this needs to be a little poished and you're perfectly skilled with knives!"

Evey smiled a little as he gave her a new knife and she tried the next bullseye. She couldn't believe it herself, but she almost hit it a few times. Eventually all the knives were thrown and she had to go and pinch them out of the wall. V had specially a room in the Shadow Gallery with wooden walls to practise knife-throwing. Now it was Evey's turn to train.

"You're a natural." he told Evey as she gave him the knives when getting them out of the wall.

"I need more practise." Evey answered, looking at V and giving him the final knife.

"Now, come with me. I want to show you something."

Evey nodded and followed V into the next room. It was completely dark, she couldn't see a thing. She didn't hear or smell anything out of the ordinary. It was just, a room.

"V… It's quite dark in here…" Evey noticed.

"My appologies…"

V turned the switch on and instantly the room bathed in light. Evey was correct, it was just a room. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for a cloaked statue in the middle. There were paintings on the walls and a glass of water on a little table on the right. V went to the statue and grabbed it, dragging the cloak off.

"Voilá!"

Evey was staring.

"It's a doll."

"Very good, Evey, yes, it's a doll. This, is your new companion. You're going to train your self-defence skills that don't include weapons on this doll. You can hit, kick, bully, abuse… Anything on this doll. It'll build on your self-esteem and you'll learn some martial arts."

Evey nervously adjusted her sweat pants. She had never seriously hit anyone in her life. Well, that hadn't happened so often. She looked at the doll. If she imagined it being Sutler or Creedy maybe it would work better?

"So, when you fight someone, it has to go flowing." V began, "It has to both be effective to beat your foe and attractive to look at. When you fight, you must do it both violently and gracefully."

"Violent is the opposite of graceful." Evey noted. V hesitated for a moment, interrupted in the middle of his sentence.

"Yes, you'll get me in a minute. When I mean graceful I don't mean some clumsy movements that'll cause you to fall over, and the same goes for violent. Have you ever seen ballet? When you look at a ballerina, it looks like she is flowing in her little shoes. Every step she takes, every jump she makes, it looks like a piece of cake! But that's an illusion, it's difficult. The same goes for fighting, the difficult part is the violent part, and the beautiful is the graceful. Stretch your legs, Evey, I don't want you to get hurt."

Evey nodded and did as V told her to. She had always known how to stretch, so that he didn't have to teach her. She did the upper muscle, lower muscle, back and front, and side muscles. When she was done her legs already felt so much lighter. Quickly she made some excercises on her back and arms. She listened to V's instructions when she stood in front of the doll.

"So, when you approach a foe, you must look like the tougher one. Don't look scared, you'll just loose self-confidence. Since you stretched your legs so nice and neatly, you can start using them. When you kick, always tense your leg and foot and try to make it less vurnable, and kick on the side. Try yourself."

Evey did as V said and gave the doll a smack that caused it to vibrate lightly.

"Again."

She kicked again.

"And again."

Evey did as she was told to.

"More force, Evey."

Evey collected all her body strength and gave all that she had.

V watched her. She was still not doing it completely. She needed more… Power. He crossed his arms, thinking of how he'd better tell her. Evey was focussed, she was everything he wanted her to be, but she still missed that little spark that he wanted to see. V took a few steps to behind the doll. He looked at the brunette.

"You don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"What?" Evey asked, breething heavily.

"You don't want Sutler or Creedy to take you. You want to be strong. They will use your weak sides, they will use your weakness. You don't want that to happen, do you? Show them who you are, Evey. Hurt them, as bad as you can. Hurt them hard."

Evey heard what V told her, and instantly the memory of her parents was fresh again. She still remembered herself as a little, scared girl watching her parents being taken away by government agents. She would never let that happen to her. She would never allow it. Never. This time the words had affect on her, with all energy and power that she had, she kicked at the doll, and the only sound that was heard after that, was the material head of the doll hitting the floor.


	6. Christmas Carols

Christmas was apporaching in a very short time. Soon Evey started to get this warm and cozy feeling she usually got before Christmas. Everything seemed like the earlier times she had spent Christmas. The only thing that was different that she was in the Shadow Gallery and couldn't go shopping as usual. In fact, Evey couldn't leave this place at all, she was receiving very advanced martial arts training from V now. Evey was busy lying on the sofa in her morning robe and polishing her knives after last evening's practise. She had got very precise and accurate now. Yesterday she had managed hitting the every single bullseye on the wall without missing. It had hit the dot. Evey was very satisfied with herself and actually considered herself more stong now. Her self-esteem had reached her absolute peak and she believed in herself. She wasn't a scared little girl anymore. She'd never again be. Evey turned her head to V when she saw him pass by with a plate of mince pies in his gloved hands.

"V, you do celebrate Christmas, right?" she asked.

First V didn't answer, as if he was chocked by Evey's question.

"I'm baking. People tend to like that on Christmas?"

Evey laughed.

"I wasn't referring to that, I meant, if you do celebrate Christmas, it's obvious that I have to give you a Christmas present?"

V had his head turned to her. Behind his mask he was staring. He had never received a Christmas gift from anyone before.

"Ehm…You don't have to, Evey. Having you here is enough for me? Now tell me, how do these pies taste?"

Evey didn't answer his comment, she decided that she wanted to give him something, even if he didn't want her to. She'd maybe even sneak out. She grabbed a pie and took a bite.

"They're delicious!" she told him with her mouth full of mince pie.

"Good!" V continued back into the kitchen.

Evey had lived with V for a long time, and had never worried about having to starve to death. With V's exceptional cooking, she was more than just happy. Evey gently placed the polished knives on the table beside her and got up. She walked barefoot over the carpeted floor and looked at the calendar. Today was Saturday, Christmas eve. Tomorrow was a day any average Londoner would be excited about. She started to worry, if she had to sneak out, she better do it now. Christmas was only a few hours away. Evey was just about to go to her room and get dressed when she bumped into V.

"Evey, are you by any chance planning to go out?" he asked her.

"No." Evey lied.

"Hmm… Could you do me a favor? I know this comes a bit unexpected, but tonight would be perfect to…"

Evey looked at V, trying to guess his next thought.

"If you could, could you maybe do the first job already tonight?" V asked with his head turned to Evey and his hands behind his back. Evey nodded.

"If you think I'm ready."

"I think you're ready, and it's nothing big. Come with me, Evey, I have an early Christmas gift for you."

V went into his own room with Evey right behind him. He opened his closet and started digging around in it. Evey noticed that V had a lot of capes, outfits and a hat collection bigger than in a hat shop. She could never imagine that a person like V had a weakness for clothes. The simple thought of it made her smile.

"Here it is."

Finally V came out again with a box, quite similar to the one with the bathing suit in it. If Evey would guess right then, she'd guess correctly. Evey took the box and smiled at V, opening it.

"Oh, V, it's beautiful..!" she called out and put the box on his bed, holding up a piece of material. It was a laced corset, in a modern yet Victorian style. V seemed to have a thing for old-fashioned clothes. Along with it she found a pair of tight, black pants and shiny leather boots with quite a comfortable heel. There was also a jacket in the same material as V's cape. It was light to wear but still it would keep Evey warm in the cold weather outside. She turned to V with a bright smile.

"Thank you." she said, really meaning it. V smiled behind his mask, feeling the temperature in his face rising. He always felt better when he made Evey happy.

"You're welcome." he said and bowed lightly.

"I'll go try it on!" Evey said, disappearing into her room. V sat down on his bed, resting his elbows on his ankles and bending his head lightly. He was happy that Evey liked the design, after all he had designed her suit himself, and, to be totally honest made it himself aswell. He wanted Evey to look her best, and black seemed to be the right color for her. V had always fancied the old dresses that were popular a few hundred years ago. Particularly the Victorian dresses. They had a new-old kind of style and Evey would look very cute. V got up, looking at the documents on his table, flipping through the archives about her up-coming victims. Creedy's name was on the top. But tonight he didn't want Evey's mission to be impossible, so he'd go for something a little lighter.

"How do I look?"

V turned around and saw Evey standing in the door, lightly leaning against the wall. It was perfect, absolutely perfect on her. She looked outstanding.

"You look…"

"Great?"

"Fantastic."

Evey smiled.

"Thanks. But, V."

Evey walked up to him, giving him a very serious look.

"I don't have to wear a mask, do I?"

V sighed.

"Evey, do you know why I wear this mask?"

Evey didn't say anything or answer. She didn't want to say something highly stupid and maybe upset him.

"I wear a mask, to hide myself from the world. Hide my face. What's beneath here, is nothing worth seeing. I don't have a face, I don't have skin, I have… nothing. It's just… nothing."

V leaned heavily against the desk, glowing with sadness. Evey knew how much V worried about that part, not having a face to show the world.

"But you," he turned back to her. "A face like yours would be illegal to not show the world."

Evey bit her lip. She was delighted to hear that she didn't have to wear a mask, but on the other hand it felt like betraying V. She nervously ran a hand through her short, curly hair and looked down.

She followed V out into the hall where he picked up her polished knives.

"You've got a belt where you can stick them in." he told her and gave Evey her knives. She did as her told her. Now she was completely ready to go.

"Here are your documents, and everything you have to know about the victim. Address, personal notes, age… Everything. Good luck, Evey Hammond."

With these words V turned around and went into the living room, leaving Evey by the door with the documents. She took a deep breath and remembered everything he had said to her. Evey pushed the door open and followed the tunnel and doors out onto the cold streets of London. She made sure no one saw her before following the street up north, running in the cold winter air. She wasn't scared, she wasn't scared at all. She knew what she was supposed to do, and she knew that she'd make it.


	7. Marry Christmas, Mayor

She stood in front of the house. She looked at the tall, white building and pitied the person living in it. He had only minutes left to live. Such a waste. Evey went to the door and looked at the lock. Code. Quietly she went around the house, looking for a way in. She glanced up to the night sky which was raven black with only a few stars on it. It had stopped snowing and the sky lost that grayish color which it had shortly before a snowfall. She looked around. The windows were closed, the alarm was on and the security was at its maximum. But like every fortress, this one had a weakness. For once Evey was grateful for being both small and thin. Easily she slipped in through the air conditioning system. It was freezing cold and icing and she froze slightly, but didn't care. Evey continued moving through the conditioning system, almost soundless. She was like a light wind, like breeze or a gust of air, easily moving. After a few meters Evey finally found a hole. She carved it open and crawled out, into the kitchen. Her first impression was a highly polished floor, almost sparkling, and the walls were light green. This seemed to be a very typical British family, shortly before Christmas. Evey walked across the floor, glancing around. In the hall there was a Christmas tree, decorated in all sorts of colors. For a moment Evey felt sad. This was a family. The mayor didn't live alone. Because she saw some presents under the tree, clearly being to some child. Maybe a son. Or a daughter. Evey looked at the table next to her. She was right. They had a son. She picked the framed photograph up and looked at it. The mayor, with his wife. She was pretty. She had blonde hair and blue eye. She was perfect. But she was guilty. Evey looked at the boy. He looked just like his mother. So nice and innocent. Such a waste.

Evey slipped up the stairs, making almost no sound at all. She'd do it quietly. She'd quietly end their lives in their sleep. No pain, no fear. Just let them die in their sleep. Evey slid a knife out of her belt around her hips and made herself on the way to the bedroom door. Suddenly she heard steps. Someone was up. Quickly Evey pressed herself against the wall, feeling the cold blade of her weapon against her chest. She held her breath. The door opened, and the tall blonde from the photograph fell down onto the floor.

Evey looked down at her victim. She hoped, hoped with all her heart, that she hadn't felt anything. She had done it so quick. So clean and pure. One cut, one death. She looked at the scarlet red blood which was quickly spreading over the floor. Evey sighed. Yes, what a waste.

"Darling? Are you alright?"

Evey looked up again. It was the mayor. He had heard her fall. He knew. She slipped into the room, hid herself in the shadows. There was almost no light in the room, only a streak from the lamp outside the house. She looked at him from the side. He didn't know. He didn't know what kind of fate he would suffer. But Evey noticed his face was shiny. He was nervous. He had a good reason. He stepped out the door and gasped.

"Christ…"

He turned around, and that was his last movement. The mayor fell down next to his wife. His blood mixed itself with hers. Evey didn't move. Just felt the red blood dripping down from her knife. She wiped it on his pajama and turned around. No one was there. But she had heard a sound. A sound, coming from the closet. Evey opened the closet door. No, this she couldn't do. He was merely a child. She would not kill a child. Evey found herself staring into a pair of baby blue eyes. The little boy was shaking, his face wet from tears. He was tightly hugging his teddy bear. Evey looked at him.

"Go. You don't' want to see what happens next. I'm sorry you had to see this."

The boy froze for a moment, then jumped up and ran out of the room. Evey didn't move. Maybe he was going to the police. Maybe not. But he wouldn't probably return. Maybe it was for the best. After a few minutes of sulking, thinking of what had just happened, Evey laws on her way leaving the house. No one would ever see it again. She was probably the last one to have seen it. Evey put her knives back and took a little bottle out of her pocket. She spread the oil around the room and entrance, all the way to the stairs. It would be better if everything just vanished in a fire. She lightened a match and threw it into the oil. The wood immediately caught fire. Evey watched the flame grow. All her pain, all her sorrow, would disappear in this tongue of flame. She saw it burning, sparkling. Evey sighed and remembered all her painful memories while watching the flames licking the walls of the house. She turned around and walked away. The house would be down to the ground before someone would even notice the fire. Maybe this was the best end the mayor and his wife would get. Maybe this was the best way. Evey looked back. It burnt. Nights like this, she felt released. She felt free. She had taken someone's life but set her own free. This was her vengeance against what this government had done to her. To her family. To V. Now she was repaying them sincerely.


End file.
